Pho - Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup

Broth:

½ pound beef bones with marrow

3 pounds oxtail (cut into 1 inch thick pieces)

2 inches ginger (peeled)

1 medium sweet yellow onion (peeled)

1 tablespoon salt

1 package pho seasoning (I use Pho Hoa Pasteur. It comes in a red 2 oz. box. Inside there are two packets. You will need only one.)

¾ cup fish sauce (I use Viet Huong fish sauce. It comes in a 24 fl. oz. bottle with a pink label and a picture of three crabs.)

Meats (all optional to your preference):

1 pound ribeye beef (thinly sliced)

1 pound eye of round beef (thinly sliced)

oxtail from above in the broth section

tripe (cooked strips)

Vietnamese beef meatballs (bò viên)

Herbs and Garnishes (all optional to your preference):

soybean sprouts

peppermint or spearmint leaves

Thai basil leaves

fish wort

perilla leaves

cilantro

chili peppers

limes (cut into 6-8 wedges)

Condiments (all optional):

hoisin sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce with a purple label.)

fresh chili peppers (sliced) or hot chili sauce (I use Sriracha.)

Noodles:

14 oz, package rice (pho) stick noodles (3 mm wide)

Other:

large 8 qt. Instant Pot

colander

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot half full with water and bring to a boil on high heat.

2. Add beef bones and oxtails to the pot.

3. Boil for five minutes to remove the impurities.

4. Drain into a large colander and wash the bones and oxtail in cold water.

5. In a large Instant Pot (or large pot if you do not have an Instant Pot) add the beef bones, oxtail, ginger, onion, salt, a package of pho seasoning (Pho Hoa Pasteur), fish sauce, and 16 cups of water.

**I have an Instant Pot Ultra 8 quart multicooker.

Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook on high for one hour.

**It will take 30+ minutes for the Instant Pot to reach pressure cook temperature, plus one hour of pressure cooking.

If you are cooking the broth the traditional method, in a pot on the stove, bring the broth to a boil on medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to low and let simmer, covered, for 4-6 hours, until the oxtail meat is tender and falls off the bone.)

6. Cook the pho rice noodles according to the package by placing the noodles in a pot of boiling water for 6-8 minutes until cooked. Then drain and rinse in cold water.

7. Wash all your herbs and garnishes and set them aside on a platter.

8. Once the Instant Pot is done cooking, unplug it and let it rest for 45 minutes. Release the steam after 45 minutes of resting.

9. Bring a pot of water to a boil and flash cook your meats (thinly sliced ribeye beef, the eye of round, tripe, and meatballs) for 2-5 minutes.

10. Drain and rinse the meats. Set aside on a platter.

11. Assemble your pho bowl with noodles, meats, and garnishes.

12. Ladle hot pho broth into your bowl and squeeze a wedge of lime juice on top.

13. Add your desired condiments.

Beet Salad

Ingredients:

3 medium red beets (wrap red beets together in aluminum foil)

3 medium golden beets (wrap golden beets together in aluminum foil) * You can save the leafy stems for juicing

4 cups mixed salad greens or arugula

Crumbled goat cheese

Optional: Grilled chicken breasts

Salad Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh orange juice or lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest or lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Roast the beets at 400 degrees F for one hour in the oven.

2. Let the beets cool before removing the skin.

3. Cut the beets into bite-size pieces.

4. Combine all the dressing ingredients together into a salad dressing shaker bottle and mix.

5. Assemble the salad with salad greens, beets, goat cheese crumbles, and salad dressing.

6. Optional: Serve with grilled chicken breasts.

Warrior Stories - Meet Faith

Faith is a 2018 Cum Laude graduate having earned a Bachelor's Degree majoring in Elementary Education and Psychology. She is currently the founder and director of the Honors Diploma Program at a private Christian school as well as the Founder and Director of CHD Tablet Talk, an organization she started to keep cardiac children connected to family and friends while experiencing extended stays in the hospital. Faith is no stranger to pageantry, having held the 2021 title of USA National Miss Pine Tree State, and the 2020 title of USA National Miss Maine. She has publications in World Class Beauty Queens Magazine. Faith is the director of the Miss Chickadee Pageant which serves as an official preliminary pageant to the USA National Miss Maine Pageant. Faith is the Crossroads Youth Organization's crown CARES social media manager and Curriculum developer. She is a published author, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, and sits on the young adult board of directors for the Children's Heart Foundation. She also partner's with Conquering CHD and has her own show, Matters of the Heart. Faith is a national speaker, having had appearances on radio, podcasts, and social media platforms. She is the 2020 Christenbury Award recipient for outstanding community service, and spends most of her time working on heart health projects, positive pageantry engagements, and promoting the crown cares anti-bullying platform through various outlets.

These accomplishments did not come easy as Faith was born with a rare CHD called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). She has undergone 8 open-heart surgeries throughout her life and is a fierce advocate for CHD. You can visit Faith's website at https://www.faithbrackett.com/ to learn more!

Faith you are an inspiration, and we at The Heart Community Collection are so proud of all you are doing.

Faith has co-authored Nellie and Ellie's Hospital Adventures - A Heart Like Mine, to help children who are experiencing a hospitalization. Order Here